Indiana Injury Lawyer Blog

The wife of Peru resident and PGA golf professional, Chris Smith, was killed and his children severely injured in a crash on Interstate 69 near Angola, Indiana. Beth Smith was killed while returning from a Father's Day visit with her family in Toledo, Ohio and the SUV she was driving collided with a Greyhound bus transporting a semipro football team from Canada.

Smith's children, Abigail and Cameron, were transported by helicopter to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where they were listed in critical condition late Sunday. Their father, Chris Smith, has been competing in the PGA since 1991.

Continue reading "WIFE OF INDIANA GOLF PRO, CHRIS SMITH, DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT ON INTERSTATE 69 NEAR ANGOLA" »

A licensed practical nurse employed by SNR Medical Services, a third-party contractor for medical services for the Madison County Jail, was attacked by an inmate on Thursday. The inmate, Omond J. Smith, 32 of Anderson, Indiana, had complained of Asthma symptoms while being transported from the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to the Madison County Courthouse for a hearing.

While receiving treatment from the LPN, Smith apparently got a hold of some type of wire mesh cloth which he used during the attack. Shortly after attempting to restrain the LPN, a guard heard the commotion and intervened to help the nurse.

Smith will be charged with criminal confinement, battery and possession of a dangerous weapon/material. The LPN reported to have sustained only minor injuries.

Just hours after reporting that a male driver was a third victim in the multi-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 69 just south of Noblesville in Fishers, Indiana on Tuesday morning, Indiana State police confirm that the suspected third decedent had been located in Methodist Hospital. Police blame the magnitude of the accident and the massive number of witnesses and victims as the culprit for the mix-up on information.

A third victim is now reported to have been killed by one of Hamilton County's worst traffic accidents on record. The deadly pile-up, which involved at least 32 vehicles, including 9 semi trucks and a firetruck, occurred around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. Witnesses reported that a firetruck, which had been helping a slide-off victim, was struck from behind, which in turn lead to a deadly chain of events where cars and trucks alike began piling up on a stretch of Interstate 69 in Fishers, Indiana, which sits adjacent to the Fishers High School in Hamilton County. The National Weather Service reported heavy snowfall that hit Central Indiana (about 3.8 in. in total) just as the morning commute was peaking. Dozens of other accidents were reported throughout the morning in that area and stretching up to Anderson. Indiana State Police blamed most of the crashes on people driving too fast and following other cars too closely in the poor winter weather conditions.

First reports identified two men in a heavy-duty commercial pick-up truck, Dustin R. Goettman, 27, and Ryan A. Phillips, 28, both of Anderson, as having been killed. Later Tuesday evening, police confirmed that a third victim of the accident, which had initially been listed as critical, had succumbed to their injuries.

Travel in the area remained dangerous for most of the day, and a large portion of Interstate 69 remained closed while investigation into the accident continued. Witnesses reported that the fatal pileup began when a southbound car on I-69 slid off the road, and a semi and a fire truck pulled over to help. As the morning commute traffic began stacking in the area, vehicles were unable to slow down and began slamming into one another. Shortly after the first impact, a semi truck reportedly slid sideways and struck several vehicles. By the time the vehicles and impacts slowed down, the motor vehicles involved included 22 passenger vehicles, nine semi trucks and a firetruck.

Continue reading "DEADLY CHAIN REACTION ACCIDENT ON INTERSTATE 69 IN FISHERS, HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA, CLAIMS THE LIFE OF A THIRD VICTIM AND FORCES MULTIPLE HOSPITALIZATIONS" »

Indiana State Police were forced to shut down both directions of nearly 45 miles of Interstate 69 from Fishers in Hamilton County to the Alexandria exit after over 30 cars and semi-tractors were involved in numerous accidents Tuesday, including a deadly chain reaction pile-up in Fishers, Indiana. State police reported that twenty-eight cars and five semi trucks were involved in a chain reaction collision. Two people riding in a semi truck were killed and one person was critically injured. Ten others were taken to nearby hospitals, and police reported multiple entrapments with injuries.

Indiana State Police are blaming weather conditions, speed and drivers following too closely for the deadly chain of events. Police believe the accident started when two vehicles struck a firetruck that was assisting a stranded motorist on the roadside. Those firefighters were not among the reported injured. The accident's initiation point was very close to Fishers High School in Hamilton County, Indiana.

Three of the injured were removed on stretchers. Other witnesses and some of the injured were being taken to Fishers High School to be interviewed and/or treated for minor injuries. Several motorists remained entrapped for over an hour after the accident was first reported. There was also at least one fuel spill from one of the vehicles. Haz-Mat teams were dispatched to assist in clean-up.

Further north on I-69 in Madison County, multiple accidents and pileups were being reported with no resulting serious injuries or fatalities. The accidents involved a stretch of the Interstate from Pendleton to near Ind. 236 east of Anderson.

The sudden snow accumulation that hit the Indianapolis area Tuesday Morning prompted the National Weather Service to issue a winter weather advisory for the southeastern quarter of Indiana. They reported approximately 3.7 inches of snow fell at Indianapolis International Airport in about three hours before 10:00 am.

Continue reading "MULTI CAR PILE-UP NEAR FISHERS, HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA CAUSES SERIOUS ACCIDENT WITH MULITIPLE INJURIES AND FATALITIES AND FORCES I-69 TO BE SHUTDOWN" »